Traffic stop yields largest Fentanyl bust in Missouri history

Traffic stop yields largest Fentanyl bust in Missouri history

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. – An Arizona man remains jailed after being arrested during a traffic stop earlier this month for transporting nearly five pounds of pure Fentanyl across state lines.

According to Sgt. Clark Parrott, a Missouri State Highway Patrol spokesman, the incident occurred November 1 around 2 p.m. on northbound Interstate 55 in New Madrid County.

A state trooper pulled over a 2017 Dodge Grand Caravan and made contact with the driver, identified as 27-year-old Angel Larar-Esteban of Phoenix. The trooper suspected criminal activity and asked—and received permission—to search the vehicle.

The trooper found approximately 4.8 pounds of Fentanyl in the vehicle, with a street value of more than $3 million. State police said it’s the largest Fentanyl seizure in Missouri history.

Larar-Esteban was charged with drug trafficking and endangering the welfare of a child.